Means for supplying heated air to the rooms of a building



Jan.

H. J. NEWLIN MEANS FOR SUPPLYING- HEATED AIR TO THE ROOMS OF A BUILDING File May 3, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l Fig. l. V '9 II 5 I 1 "7* F 111 Q 2\ 13 14 g A J \l 17 w 9 q n Q a 0 11 5' n M g 10 \J 1' F1g.7 E E 1 g L 97; W

.3! 3 4 jiizr y JJVewZzrz //V E/VTOR H. J. NEWLIN 2,185,774 MEANS FOR SUPPLY-INC? .HEATED AIR TO THE ROOMS OF A BUILDING Jan. 2, 1940.

Filed May 3, 1938 Fig. 4

Fig. 5

Patented Jan. 2, 1940 UNITED STATES MEANS FOR' SUPPLYING HEATED AIR TO THE ROOMS OF A BUILDING Henry James Newlin, Birmingham, England Application May 3, 1938, Serial. No. 205,855

Claims.

This invention relates to means for supplying heated air to the rooms of a building 01? the type in which the air is heatedby flowing through passage incorporated in a fire place.

With fire places as at present constructed a large proportion of the heat escapes up the chimney, and this invention has for its object to ab.-

sorb the heat which normally escapes up the chimney, to heat air which is directed into a room or rooms of a building to heat such rooms and recondition the air in such rooms. By this invention it is possible to utilise an open fire located in one room to heat other rooms in the building.

, By this invention also an improved construction of fire place is obtained, as well as an improved arrangement of supporting the fire unit.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily'carried. into eifeot, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings on which:

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional elevation of an air heating device and room warmingd'evice constructed according to this invention, the section being taken on line II of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is cross-sectional elevation, the section being taken on line IIII of Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is a sectional plan, the section being taken on line III-III of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a section of the upper portion of the chimney shown in Figure 2, the section being in the same plane.

Figure 5 is a section on line V-V of Figure 4.

FigureG plan view of the fire grate, and

Figure 7 is a plan view of a room of the buildmg.

According to a convenient embodiment of this invention, the fire-place is arranged to form an open fire in the interior wall I of a room in the building, for instance a ground floor room, the fire-place opening having a tiled surrounding wall 2. The fire-place 3 is constructed as a selfcontained expansible and contractable unit, comprising the fire-well 4 and walls 5 of the firebox leading the products of combustion to the chimney 6. This self-contained unit also includes the air passages "i on each side of the fire-box, the walls of such passages being continued below the fire-well and shaped to open into a fresh air inlet passage 8 under the floor of the building.

The fire may be automatically fed by the gravity chute 9. An ash-pit I9 is fixed under the firegrate and has inclined walls for delivering the ashes to the rear of the fire-place. The wall of the. fire-box is also fitted with water boilers H.

All the parts thus constructed are built upas a single structure and the front andrear walls have supporting rails l2 fixed thereto which are slidably engaged on the beams I? in the walls M surrounding the fire-place and the chimney. The fire-place unit 3 is thus suspended as a whole and is free to expand and contract. An air seal is also obtained and for this purpose, in addition to the rails l2, side angle-bars Ida and 15 are fixed to the unit, the bar Ma conveniently engaging a groove in the wall whilst the bar I5 is fixed to a girder l6. A. removable cover I! is fixed over the opening in the wall through which the fire-place unit is passed, and this cover may be afterwards bricked over. The fire-place unit is enclosed by brick walls I, I4 and I3 which are carried to the top of the building; The chimney 6 is fixed to the top of the fire-box, and this chimney is formed of metal in order to conduct the heat of the gases passing up the flue to the air to be warmed. A larger metal orother tube l9 surrounds the chimney 6 and is fixed tothe top of the unit 3, the base of the tube l9 being shaped, so that the passages 7 merge therein.

The air to be heated is drawn up the passages l and the annular passage 28 by a fan 24 which delivers the hot air to the rooms to be heated. The fan is conveniently located in a chamber 2| in the roof of the building, which communicates with the annular passage 2! by the opening am, the top of the passage 20 being closed by the plate 22. The hot air is conveniently delivered by the fan into the spaces 23 between the walls I, Hi and. I8 and the tube Hi. The fan 24 delivers'the air into the passage 25 and through the opening 25a and the top of the spaces 23 are closed by the this purpose a valve plate 21 is pivoted at 28 and I is adapted in one position to close the opening 2| and in another position to close the aperture Ziiopen to the atmosphere. In intermediate positions air through both openings is drawn in by the fan. The temperature of air supplied to the into the room through a grating or opening 33 in a floor 34. The opening 33 may be conveniently located near the top of a room. The outlet for the air in this room is conveniently provided in a wall near the floor of the room, this wall being, conveniently a hollow wall which will allow the air to pass up the wall and out into the roof space. By so arranging the flow of air the fabric of the building is heated and very little heat escapes into the atmosphere. The warm air delivered by the fan 24 can however be delivered into any desired arrangement or construction of distributor conduit. In the construction illustrated, the walls enclosing the chimney also form the walls of a distributor conduit, and the air passing therethrough is further heated. v

The warm air delivered by the fan 24 may also be utilized for obtaining a forced draught for the fire, and for this purpose the space 35 under the grate is enclosed and is connected by the conduit 36 to the passage 23, a damper being provided to control this forced draft.

In order to increase the draft up the chimney a pipe may be connected to the delivery side of the fan 24.

The chimney is supported at the upper end to permit of expansion and contraction and to seal the joint, and for this purpose an annular vessel 38 is connected by a flange 39 to the brick walls l8 whilst the chimney carries a flange 19 having the depending ring Ml which dips into water in the vessel 38. The wall of the vessel carries spring tongues M which bear against the chimney and support the same in a central position. Water may be continuously fed to the vessel 38 through the conduit 42, the flow through the conduit being controlled by the needle valve: 43. An overflow aperture 38a is provided in the vessel 38 so that water can overflow and humidify the air passingthrough fan 24.

The grate do at the bottom of the fire-well is constructed to form fire bars 44 which lie over the ash-pit l and with perforations 45 which lie over the enclosed space 35 through which forced draft passes.

The forced draft therefore does not flow through the ash-pit and ashes are not liable to be blown out through the chimney. The fire-box aforedescribed is constructed without the use of flrebrick, as the walls are cooled by the air passages and the water boilers. The damper 44a controlling the conduit 35 may be connected to the thermostatically controlled valve 2'! by means of the Wire or rod 55a which is connected to the damper and to an arm 46 on the valve. The forced draught will therefore be reduced when less heat is required to be supplied to the room or rooms. In lieu of drawing the air up the passages i and 2B, the air to be heated may be caused to flow down such passages. For instance if the fan 23 is reversed air will be drawn in through a conduit such as 32 which may open to the outside atmosphere and the heated air is passed to the passages 3, to which may be connected distributing conduits for supplying air to the rooms. In the example illustrated the conduit 32 may also deliver air to a grating in the ceiling of an under room.

I claim:

1. Means for supplying the rooms of a building with heated air, having a fire-place comprising an expansible and contractable unit forming a fire-well and walls for the fire-well leading the products of combustion to the chimney,

means for suspending the unit so that it is free to expand downwardly, a chimney of heat conducting material fixed to the fire-place unit, air passages around the fire-well and forming part of the fire-place unit and a tube fixed to the said fire-place unit and forming an air passage leading from said passages and surrounding the said chimney.

2. Means for supplying the'rooms of a build ing'with heated air, having a fire-place comprising an expansible and contractable unit forming a fire-well and walls for the fire-well leading the products of combustion to the chimney, means for suspending the fire-place unit in sealed contact with the structure of the building and so that it is free to expand downwardly, comprising flanges or ledges on the front and rear of the fire-place unit which bed on ledges of the building structure, a chimney of heat conducting material fixed to the said fire-place unit, air passages around the fire-well and forming part of the fire-place unit and a tube fixed to said fire-place unit and forming an air passage leading from said passages and surrounding the said chimney.

3. Means for supplying the rooms of a building with heated air, having a fire-place comprising an expansible and contractable unit forming afire-well and walls for the fire-well leading the products of combustion to the chimney, an ash pit under the fire-well and air passages on the outside of the fire-box forming part of the said fire-place unit, means for suspending the said unit so that it is free to expand downwardly, a chimney of heat conducting material fixed to the said fire-place unit, air passages around the firewell and forming part of the fire-place unit and a tube fixed to said fire-place unit and forming an air passage leading from such passages and surrounding the chimney.

4. Means for supplying the rooms of a building with heated air, having a fire-place unit comprising a fire-box formed of a fire-well and walls for the fire-well leading the products of combustion to the chimney, an ash-pit under the fire-well and forming part of the said unit, air passages on each side of the fire-well and forming extensions thereof, flanges on the sides of the fire-place unit for suspending such unit from the building structure, a metal chimney supported by the fire-box and an outer tube surrounding the chimney supported by the fire-place unit and forming a chamber with which the said air passages of the fire-place unit commimicate.

5. Means for supplying the rooms of a building with heated air, having a fire-place unit comprising a fire-box formed of a fire-well and walls for the fire-well leading the products of combustion to the chimney, an ash-pit underthe fire-well, forming part of said unit, air passages on each side of the fire-well and forming extensions thereof, flanges on the front and rear walls of the fire-place unit freely resting on ledges of the building structure, means for fixing one side of the said unit to the building structure and a projecting rib on the other side for freely engaging the building structure to suspend the unit in sealed relationship with the building structure, a metal chimney supported by the fire-box and an outer tube surrounding the chimney supported by the fire-place unit and forming a chamber with which the said air passages of the fire-place unit communicate.

HENRY JAMES NEWLIN. 

